Night Falls on Manhattan

NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN

Production Notes
"Night Falls on Manhattan" is directed by Sidney Lumet from his own screenplay adapted from the novel Tainted Evidence by Robert Daley. The drama also stars Richard Dreyfuss, Lena Olin, Ian Holm and Ron Leibman. Thom Mount and Josh Kramer are producers on the film and John Starke serves as co-producer. Spelling Films, a subsidiary of Spelling Entertainment Group Inc., has fully financed the film and will release it internationally. Paramount Pictures, part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc., will distribute the film in the U.S. and Canada.

Joining Garcia is Oscar -winner Richard Dreyfuss, who portrays Sam Vigoda, a liberal defense attorney who opposes Casey in the courtroom. Lena Olin plays Peggy Lindstrom, a colleague of Vigoda's drawn into a romance with Casey despite conflicting professional agendas. Ron Leibman is District Attorney Morgenstern, who supports Casey and grooms him to be his successor. Ian Holm rounds out the principal cast as Sean's father, Liam Casey, a veteran cop whose involvement in the case launches his son's career and triggers its downfall.

"It's my favorite kind of film - a moral melodrama, pitting purity and optimism against political expediency and cynicism," explains writer/director Sidney Lumet. Regarding the moral of the film, Lumet cites Shakespeare's Polonius, "To shine own self be true."

Producer Thom Mount says, "My partner Josh Kramer and I had been searching for material that addressed the issue of power and its cost, but from a fresh perspective. When Sidney Lumet sent us an early draft of 'Night Falls on Manhattan,' we recognized themes that we thought were dramatically compelling and surprising. All of us like to believe in our true hearts and better selves. The character played by Andy Garcia does more than believe in it - he acts on it."

Explains Lumet, "Sean Casey finds that to be successful in his work or to even function at all in the job for that matter, he has to keep taking steps to compromise his own integrity and finally has to decide which way he wants to live his life - by their rules or by his own."

Thom Mount first became friends with Sidney Lumet when he supervised production on Lumet's "The Wiz" during his tenure at Universal Pictures. As Mount recalls, "Night Falls on Manhattan" came to life because, "I set out to make a picture with Sidney that would be an exploration of the collapse of traditional morality in America - a film that examined how the mechanism works for making decisions that are ethical and/or moral." To Mount, the film's issues have a universal appeal. "We hope that because our central character in this film confronts enormous moral compromise, both in his family and in his own life, and his solutions are fresh and unusual, that some of that will rub off."

"Sidney is to New York what Muhammed Ali is to boxing," describes Mount. "Sidney is one of the great in-fighters - a guy who understands the ring and the context of his kind of fight better than any living director. None of them are as true as Sidney Lumet. He's got a great short jab. He understands the size and landscape of the ring. He knows brilliantly and intuitively how to pace the rhythm and the actual production of a film, so that it suits his gift."

Producer Josh Kramer describes "Night Falls on Manhattan" as a "morally ambiguous film in which the central character (Sean Casey) is faced with conflicting values between loyalty to family and his conception of the high moral plane that public servants should be standing on. Sean never realized that he would have to make these choices when he got involved with the situation." Kramer continues: "Sidney doesn't give the audience a simple moral equation for what the right thing is. Sean Casey doesn't believe in compromise so he elects for a world in which he doesn't have to, instead of dealing with the real world in which he does. It is more true to life than to think that it's possible to construct a world in which one can always do the right thing."

"The amazing thing about Sidney Lumet is how incredibly focused he is on getting exactly what he wants," says Kramer. "He organizes the making of a film like a military campaign in which the objective and the strategy are determined before a single shot is fired and then he single-mindedly goes out and follows his plan step by step, never losing sight of his overall vision."

Co-producer John Starke first met Sidney Lumet when he worked for Lumet as location manager on "Network." The two began a long friendship and working relationship which led to Starke's eventual involvement in "Night Falls on Manhattan." Starke describes working with Sidney as a "pleasure and a fulfilling experience," adding: "He's gifted, driven, focused, clear visioned and he has eyes in the back of his head. He always knows everything that's going on on the set and he's always one step ahead planning his next move. He's also a wonderful friend.". Lumet introduced Starke to Thom Mount and Josh Kramer, "It was a chance to work again with Sidney and to be a part of team with two producers whose work I admire on a project which I found extremely compelling," recalls Starke.

Andy Garcia became interested in "Night Falls on Manhattan" because "the material had a certain morality tale" that he admired. As a fan of Lumet's work, Garcia notes, "mainly the aspect of working with Sidney Lumet was the key thing." Shortly after he began working with Sidney, Garcia observed that "Sidney has a tremendous level of passion and focus for what he believes a film to be - there's a great sense of truth in his work."

For Garcia, "Night Falls on Manhattan" is "about issues and inter-relationships, choices and ethics - morality." The choices that his character is faced with are the central part of the film's plot. The actor explains, "I get thrust into the political arena and eventually get elected as the new District Attorney of New York. Within that process, I have to deal with this kind of ethical question - a decision on whether to basically destroy evidence and protect my father or not."

Richard Dreyfuss describes the story as "the degradation of the system and ultimately, the choices a man has to make as to whether or not he has to go along with that." He considers his character to be "loosely based on William Kuntsler, a left leaning radical attorney who represents the lost causes and the unpopular causes and the guilty as hell." In order to prepare for the role, Dreyfuss studied footage of Kuntsler dating back to 1968, read his biography and studied press clippings about his life.

Dreyfuss explains that Vigoda takes on the case of Jordan Washington because "he believes that drugs have corrupted the police department and that unless you deal with the police corruption, you can't deal with the problem. He's after dirty cops - the case is all about police corruption." Dreyfuss was attracted to the role because "it's just like the fulfillment of a fantasy. I always wanted to stand up and say, 'I object your honor' and fight for the underdog and take the unpopular position." That fantasy combined with the notion of working with Sidney Lumet (a favorite director of his) meant that Dreyfuss would accept the role of Sam Vigoda.

Lena Olin describes her character, Peggy Lindstrom, as "a woman who's obviously very good at what she's doing. She's a lawyer; she lives in New York; she's wealthy; she's been married; she knows what she wants in life; she's very determined and she's straightforward." Olin learned a great deal about the legal system from Sidney himself. "This is his backyard. When you hear him talk about this whole matter of police, lawyers, law, it's like he could be a lawyer himself because he's so aware of every single detail. He knows what he's doing," she explains.

Olin found the "Night Falls on Manhattan" script "wonderful, because a lot of times movies become like fairy tales, which is great in a way, but there are a few movies, like this one, that want to deal with reality and that is complicity. The fact that there are so many sides to things and no easy answers. There are no really good guys and bad guys. It's all very complex." She was also drawn to the love story that develops between her character and Garcia's character. "We're on different sides and yet there is an attraction, so the relationship starts which is a kind of classical take on romance in theater and movies."

Ian Holm describes his character as "an old fashioned cop, a man with principals. He's been on the force 37 years and he has a strong moral streak and community spirit. Like practically everyone else involved, he's disillusioned. He still believes that what he's doing is right and he will continue to do that. As he says 'They'll have to throw me out' and you know he won't retire."

Holm was attracted to the project because he wanted an opportunity to work with Lumet. "Sidney is the reason. I have to say unequivocally, the opportunity to work with an American icon was something I just couldn't turn down. Sidney has made a great many wonderful films and my particular favorite was 'Twelve Angry Men' which I think was one of the greatest films ever made." In addition, he has enormous respect for his co-stars, adding: "I have a lot of respect for Andy Garcia as an actor and he wanted me for his father; so I have a lot to thank him for. He's a very sensitive actor, extremely giving. He's a very special guy."

Once the rehearsal process began, Holm found it easy to shape his character by working closely with Lumet. "Sidney's warm, affectionate and it's not difficult to elicit a performance from an actor if you work with Sidney. He's very precise in what he wants from the story and the role. After all, he wrote 'Night Falls on Manhattan' and his instincts are so clear that it's easy to follow." Although Holm likes to leave a lot of discovery for the actual day of his performance, he did prepare for his role by reading a lot of real-life detective stories about New York and by going out on patrol with New York policemen.

As a native of Britain, Holm had a lot of dialect coaching in order to sound like a New York policeman. He adds, however, that "by talking to New Yorkers and by sticking around them enough," he slipped into the accent quite easily.

Ron Leibman remembers Lumet approaching him in a restaurant two years ago and saying, "I have a part for you." True to his word, Lumet called the actor last summer and said, "That part I told you about - it's now." Leibman accepted the role of District Attorney Morgenstern as soon as he read the script. He considers his character "a very driven political beast. He's a very decent man basically, but he's got some problems." Leibman finds his character's own conflict as reflective of the film's overall message about the legal system: "How much of yourself do you give away in order to keep doing your job. How are you able to be successful within a bureaucracy and not sell yourself totally down the river." He feels that this theme exists within today's society, "On some level, it's about what we all do."

"One of the first things that Sidney said to us," recalls Leibman, "is 'There's not a casual moment in this movie." The subject matter coupled with the gritty quality of the film created a sense of urgency for Leibman's character throughout the process of the shoot. "Every scene is about life and death," the actor explains. "Am I going to win? Am I going to lose? Am I going to die? Am I going to live? You have characters constantly in conflict about something that is so vital to them that if they don't get it they feel their lives are over. It's about human beings fighting for something every second of the film. That's exciting drama."

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